The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boko haram

  • Michika head takes over palace vandalised by Boko Haram

    The District Head of Michika, Ngida Zakawa Kwache, who has kept out of his palace five years after his election, has formally taken over the palace.

    Ngida Kwache won election which kingmakers conducted for the office of district head on December 31, 2013 but Boko Haram seized Michika in September 2014.

    It remained a Boko Haram territory until federal forces reclaimed it on January 29, 2015.

    But fears of Boko Haram reigned long afterwards with the district’s head office, which was vandalised, locked up until Thursday afternoon.

    Ngida Kwache, a grandson of the founder of Michika, Kwada Kwakaa, is the first indigenous and substantive district head since Nigeria’s independence.

    Read Also: Boko Haram: Troops kill four, recover weapons in Borno

    His predecessor, Mohammed Maude, held it on acting capacity for 53 years and died in 2013.

    Relating a bit of the history of the district office during the takeover ceremony, Ngida Kwache said: “I am the first indigenous district head of Michika.

    “The founder of this land is my great grandfather known as Kwada Kwaka. After him we had nine people who were kings of this place.

    “When the colonial masters were about going back, they wanted this palace to have a district head.

    “Election took place and my uncle (Stephen Kontikwara) won, but they said he was too young and he was not married.

    “They gave the position to someone else on acting capacity. He stayed on the throne in that capacity for 53 years and then died in 2013.”

    The Michika District comprises Michika 1 and Michika 2, which constitute the heart of Michika, a principal town and headquarters of the Michika Local Government Area overseen traditionally by the Emir of Mubi.

    The Chairman of the Michika LGA, Hon Mathew Vendi Favandzaer, said at the official opening of the palace he had been authorised by the state government to hand over the district head office for Ngida Kwache’s use after fulfillment of the requirements of the office.

  • Boko Haram: Troops kill four, recover weapons in Borno

    The Nigerian Army on Friday said its troops killed four Boko Haram insurgents in the
    ongoing clearance operation at Makinta-Meleri in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno.

    Col. Ado Isa, the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations 7 Division, in a statement in Maiduguri, said that the troops also recovered weapons from the insurgents.

    He disclosed that troops of 7 Division Nigerian Army of Operation Lafiya Dole based on credible information conducted clearance operation on suspected Boko Haram terrorists’ hideout at Makinta-Meleri area of Konduga Local Government Area.

    “During the operation, the gallant troops neutralised four terrorists and recovered AK-47 rifles with registration
    numbers: 58012289, 565240898 and 58006027.

    “They also recovered three Rifle Magazines containing 32 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition and three bicycles.”

    Isa quoted the acting General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division, and Commander Sector 1 Operation Lafiya Dole, Brig.-Gen. Bulama Biu, as commending the troops for their gallantry.

    Biu told the troops that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, was proud of their doggedness and urged them to sustain the offensive until the insurgents were flushed out to ensure total restoration of peace and security to the region.

    The army spokesman also called on the people to provide useful information on suspected Boko Haram terrorists’ hideouts.

  • Boko Haram: Buratai denies allegation of non-payment, ill-equipment

    The Chief of Army Staff, (COAS) Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai on Thursday said allegations of lack of equipment and non -payment of allowances to troops in the war fronts are ill-conceived and misleading.

    He said the allegations were part of the campaigns of calumny against the army to dampen morale of troops.

    He urged the media to see through the psychological warfare of the insurgents and their international and local collaborators.

    Buratai made the remarks at the opening ceremony of Nigerian Army Conference for Editors at Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Abuja.

    The Army Chief appealed to the editors to support the military in the war against Boko Haram terrorists, asserting it was not meant for the military alone.

    According to him: “It is important to note that the leakage of vital information on military operation like the on-going fight against the Boko Haram terrorists is inimical to national security as this will give our position to the terrorists and give them upper hand in their psychological war against the troops.

    “I made it clear that it is imperative to check the spate of terrorists’ propaganda which is inimical to the successful implementation of the counter insurgency campaign.

    “Additionally, I also reaffirmed that terrorists thrive on publicity to misinform the public, instill fear in the minds of the people and dampen troops’ morale.

    Read Also: Buratai lauds troops for retaking Baga

    “Furthermore, the allegations of human rights abuses against the military by Amnesty International, allegations of lack of equipment and non-payment of allowances to troops are ill-conceived and misleading.”

    He went on: “The war against terrorism should be a collective responsibility for all, and not just a war between the army and the terrorist groups.

    “The war needs to be reported as it is, and therefore, the media need to enlighten the people to understand the true situation and support the military.

    “The impact of the terrorists’ propaganda was one of the major challenges facing the military by discouraging and dampening morale of the troops in the frontline”.

  • Troops neutralise Boko Haram in Yobe

    The Nigerian Army on Monday said Boko Haram terrorists has been inflicted with more pains as troops repelled their attacks in Buni Yadi, Gujba local government of Yobe state, killing scores of them during the encounter.

    According to a statement from the Assistant Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Major Nureni Alimi, four soldiers however sustained injuries during the encounter.

    Major Alimi said: “Troops of the 27 Task Force Brigade and Nigerian Army Special Forces School, Buni Yadi, Gujba Local Government of Yobe State, successfully defeated Boko Haram terrorists that launched an attack on the military base.

    Read Also: Army uncovers Boko Haram logistics suppliers in Borno

    “The terrorists came to engage the Brigade around 4:15pm on Sunday 20th January, 2018, daring the troops for almost two and a half hours. The gallant troops stood their ground and thoroughly dealt with them.

    “Two Gun trucks of the terrorists were collected from them and some of them were neutralized on the process while several others were seen taking to their heels with gunshot injuries. Cache of Anti-Aircraft ammunition and bombs of Rocket Propelled Gun were also recovered.

    “The troops were in high spirit as they all started jubilating with high morale. Only 4 soldiers sustained minor injuries and are currently receiving treatment in the Brigade medical facility”.

  • Opposition politicians plotting violence to truncate 2019 elections – FG

    The Federal Government says it is in possession of credible intelligence confirming that opposition politicians are orchestrating widespread violence to truncate the forthcoming general elections.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the allegation at a world press conference he addressed on behalf of the government in Abuja on Monday.

    ‘‘As you are aware, Nigeria goes to the polls just 27 days from now.

    ‘‘However, the Federal Government is in possession of credible intelligence to the effect that widespread violence being orchestrated by the opposition is threatening the 2019 general elections,’’ he said.

    On the reasons for the plot, the minister said the opposition politicians, having realised that their fortunes had dwindled ahead of the polls, were orchestrating widespread violence with a view to truncating the elections.

    ‘‘You have definitely seen the massive and warm reception that President Muhammadu Buhari has been receiving across the country, compared to the thinning crowds that have been attending the opposition rallies.

    ‘‘The desperate opposition is orchestrating widespread violence with a view to truncating the elections, thus triggering a constitutional crisis that could snowball into the establishment of an interim government,’’ he said.

    Mohammed buttressed the Federal Government’s claims and allegation against the opposition politicians to justify that the government was not just crying wolf.

    He said ‘‘We have credible intelligence that bandits and Boko Haram insurgents have been mobilised to engage in massive attacks and other acts of violence in several states across the country.

    ‘‘The states include: Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Benue, Kano, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara.

    ‘‘The Benue-based armed criminal group, led by Terwase AKWAZA, also known as Gana, has been commissioned to strike soft targets in Benue, Nasarawa, and Taraba States.

    Read Also: FG appoints Bogoro as TETFund Executive Secretary

    ‘‘In Kano State, a group of notorious miscreants have been mobilised by some prominent opposition leaders to provoke massive chaos before, during and after the elections.’’

    He added that there was also an international dimension to the evil plan.

    ‘‘Some armed mercenaries from Niger Republic have been contracted to attack top government functionaries, including state governors, across the North-West between now and the elections,’’ he said.

    The minister said the Federal Government is taking every possible measure to counter the evil plans by unpatriotic anarchists and would ensure the smooth conduct of the forthcoming general elections.

    He assured of the President Buhari-led Administration’s commitment to credible, free, fair and peaceful elections was unshaken.

    Mohammed appealed to all Nigerians to be vigilant in the days ahead.

    He also appealed to the media to help in sensitizing members of the public to the observed threats, capable of disrupting the elections.

    ‘‘The punch line of our long running campaign on security – if you see something, say something – remains relevant, perhaps even more, at this time,’’ he said.

    He said all the relevant agencies under his ministry would work together to ensure that Nigerians are alerted to the dangers posed to the forthcoming elections by the unpatriotic characters planning to destabilize the country in order to realize their inordinate ambitions.

    NAN

     

  • Army neutralises Boko Haram insurgents in Yobe

    The 27 Task Force Brigade and Nigeria Army Special Forces School, Buni-Yadi, Yobe, on Sunday neutralised scores of Boko Haram insurgents who attacked the military base.

    Major Nureni Alimi, the Assistant Director, Public Relations, 27 Task Force Brigade, disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday.

    Alumi said many insurgents were killed, others received gunshot injuries while a cache of Anti-Aircraft ammunitions, bombs, Rocket Propelled Guns and two Gun trucks were recovered.

    “Troops of the 27 Task Force brigade and the Nigeria Army Special Forces school in Buni-Yadi, Gujba Local Government, Yobe successfully defeated Boko Haram terrorists that launched an attack on the military base” it said.

    Read Also: Troops kill two Boko Haram insurgents, rescue two women

    “The terrorists came to engage the Brigade around 4:15 p.m. on Sunday January, 20, 2019, daring the troops for almost two and half hours.

    “The gallant troops stood their ground and thoroughly dealt with the insurgents, the troops were in high spirit and jubilated at the victory with high morale,” it added.

    Alimi also disclosed that four soldiers sustained minor injuries and were presently receiving treatment in the Brigade medical facility.

  • Ten years of terror

    Boko Haram’s reign of terror isn’t over. The Islamic terrorist group’s bloody insurgency, now 10 years old, continues to torment the Nigerian government and Nigerian people.

    In a January 18 statement, the United States of America said: “ISIS West Africa and Boko Haram have both stated they plan to disrupt the upcoming 2019 presidential elections by conducting attacks on Nigerian security and infrastructure as well as places of gathering such as markets, hotels and malls.”

    Recent reported attacks happened on December 1, December 3 and December 4, 2018.  The November 18, 2018 Boko Haram attack on troops at Metele village, Guzamala Local Government Area, Borno State, which claimed many lives, is still fresh. Since July 2018, according to AFP reports, there have been at least 22 attacks on military bases and positions in Borno and Yobe.  The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) faction of Boko Haram claimed responsibility for most of them.

    Indeed, the Nigerian military needs to demonstrate that it can win the war on terror. There have been too many terror attacks and too many casualties. The repeated terror attacks on military targets cast doubt on the military’s grip on security; the attacks also raise questions about the military’s counter-insurgency capacity.

    It is sad that an estimated 27,000 lives have been lost since the insurgency started in 2009. Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states are the most affected. The destructive activities of the terrorist group have made about 1.8 million people homeless and caused a humanitarian crisis. The United Nations recently lamented the upsurge in Boko Haram attacks in the Northeast, and its effect on the civilian population: “It is heart-wrenching to see so many of these people living in congested camps, or sleeping outside with no shelter.” The rising number of military and civilian casualties is unacceptable.

    Boko Haram’s evil abduction of over 100 schoolgirls from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College (GGSTC), Dapchi, Yobe State, in February 2018, further demonstrated the group’s lack of repentance. The Dapchi abduction compounded the still unresolved mass kidnapping of schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014.  Many of the Chibok captives are still in captivity.

    The Dapchi attack happened after Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai restated his order to troops to capture Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau dead or alive.  It is noteworthy that in 2017 the army chief gave his men a 40-day ultimatum to capture Shekau, and the army later offered a N3 million reward for information on the elusive Shekau.

    The factionalisation of Boko Haram has complicated the war on terror. A faction of the group led by Abu Musab Al-Barnawi claimed responsibility for the Dapchi abduction. The Chibok kidnapping was attributed to a faction led by Shekau.

    Buratai was quoted as saying when he visited troops at Camp Zairo in the Sambisa Forest, which had served as headquarters of the terrorists before the military seized the camp in December 2016: “Let me say congratulations. But we must move across to wherever this criminal, Shekau, is and catch him…I want you to get him…You all know these criminals are still on the run; these guys are on the run, you must make sure that you get them wherever they are around this area…You must not allow them to escape. Every day, you must go on patrol, lay ambush for them and you go on raids.”

     Abubakar Shekau was among the “The World’s Most Influential People” listed by TIME in 2015. The identified influencers in the 2015 TIME 100 were diverse enough to include the anti-hero. The TIME portrait said:  ”The citizens of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, know Abubakar Shekau all too well: he is the most violent killer their country has ever seen.”  Shekau’s terrifying profile was worsened by his group’s outrageous seizure of more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls. Shekau has been reported dead, or more specifically, reported killed, on at least two occasions; and there is speculation that Shekau may have become “a brand name” for whoever is the leader of Boko Haram.

    Before the TIME ranking, an international think tank, the Project for the Study of the 21st Century, said the Boko Haram insurgency was the fourth deadliest conflict in the world in 2014 and was responsible for 11, 529 deaths. The think tank added that the figure of fatalities could be underestimated.

    Al-Barnawi, reportedly in his twenties, is the first son of the late founder of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf, who died in police custody in 2009 following a military operation against the group in Borno State, which further radicalised it. In August 2016, the extremist militant group, ISIS,   appointed Al-Barnawi as the head of Boko Haram, a recognition which was rejected by Shekau.

    A revealing profile of the actor at the centre of the Dapchi abduction says: “Little is known about Abu Mus’ab al-Barnawi, who appeared in a Boko Haram video in January 2015 as the group’s spokesman…He wore a turban and his face was blurred out and it was filmed as a sit-down studio interview… Barnawi pulled no punches, warning that towns which resisted Boko Haram in its mission to create an Islamic state would be flattened… He also spoke of being against democracy and foreign education.”

    Ten years after the Boko Haram insurgency started, it is tragic that the war on terror is looking like a war without end. Ironically, Army boss Buratai unwittingly suggested the possibility of an endless war in his response to reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State, in December 2018: “They keep changing their names like we have Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) now. I want to tell you that, even if we finish with ISWAP, those people behind these things will snowball to another name and they will go on and on.”

    The Nigerian government under former President Goodluck Jonathan failed to defeat Boko Haram. The President Muhammadu Buhari government says it has “degraded” Boko Haram.  As Boko Haram marks the 10th anniversary of its insurgency, it is clear that the insurgents are still dangerously active.  The objective of the war on terror should be to make the insurgents inactive.

  • Troops kill two Boko Haram insurgents, rescue two women

    The Nigerian Army on Sunday said its troops killed two Boko Haram insurgents in the ongoing clearance operation at Kajeri community in Mafa Local Government Area of Borno.

    Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Operation LAFIYA DOLE said in a statement in Maiduguri that the troops also recovered ammunitions and rescued two aged women from the insurgents’ captivity.

    Nwachukwu said the insurgents killed on Saturday by troops of 112 Task Force Battalion on clearance operation in the general area of Zaza, Kajeri-Maye, and Kajeri-Maiburem villages in Mafa.

    “The terrorists who had infiltrated Kajeri-Maye village to unleash mayhem on the communities ran out of luck, as the vigilant troops projected their clearance operation to the village and fiercely engaged the terrorists in combat, killing two of them.

    “During the operation, the gallant troops rescued two women who had been held hostage by the terrorists. The rescued women were handed over to officials of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Mafa.’’

    According to Nwachukwu, the troops also recovered one primed 36 Hand Grenade, two Dane Guns, one locally fabricated short barrel gun, and two Mobile phones.

    Other items also recovered by the troops include one AK-47 rifle magazine,17 rounds of  Anti-Aircraft gun ammunition, 27 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition and 22 rounds of 7.62 mm NATO ammunition.

    The army spokesman said the troops were on the pursuit of the insurgents who escaped.

    He said they would continue with the clearance operations to flush out remnants of the terrorists’ still hiding in the area. (NAN)

  • 2019: ISIS/B’Haram planning to disrupt Nigeria’s elections – US

    The United States of America has warned its citizens in Nigeria of a plan by Islamic State and Boko Haram insurgent groups to disrupt the forthcoming 2019 general elections by carrying out attacks.

    The US gave the warning in a statement published on its website on the 18th of January 2019, said the insurgent groups plans to attack public places and government infrastructures.

    According to the alert, the embassy said it did not have information on whether such attacks were targeted at its embassy or not, but U.S. citizens in Nigeria should remember to follow personal security precautions on a regular basis.

    “There is an increase in ISIS propaganda videos specifically directed to Nigeria and the ongoing civil unrest in Borno state and the Northeast” the statement reads.

    “ISIS West Africa (ISWA) and Boko Haram have both stated they plan to disrupt the upcoming 2019 presidential elections by conducting attacks on Nigerian Security and infrastructure, as well as places of gathering such as markets, hotels, and malls”.

    “While we have no specific threat information to the U.S. Embassy or within Nigeria during the election season, U.S. citizens in Nigeria should remember to follow personal security precautions on a regular basis”.

    It also said US citizens should avoid crowds and demonstrations, keep a low profile and to stay alert in public places, including schools, hospitals, government facilities, places of worship, tourist locations, and transportation hubs.

    The embassy further urged its citizens to carry proper identification, including a US passport with a current Nigerian visa, if needed and to exercise caution when walking or driving at night.

    The 2019 general elections involves the Presidential and National Assembly, which will take place on the 16th of February, and the Governorship and State Assemblies polls to be held in the 2nd of March.

  • Troops repel insurgents’ attack in Borno

    The Nigerian Army on Thursday said its troops had successfully repelled attacks coordinated by Boko Haram insurgents at Gajiram community in Ngazai Local Government Area of Borno.

    Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Operation LAFIYA DOLE, said in a statement that the troops killed several insurgents and recovered weapons when the terrorists tried to infiltrate the community on Tuesday.

    “Troops of Operation LAfIYA DOLE deployed in the Forward Operational Base at Gajiram, fiercely countered a group of Boko Haram terrorists, who made frantic attempts to infiltrate the community on Tuesday Jan. 15, 2019.

    Read Also: Army uncovers Boko Haram logistics suppliers in Borno

    “The terrorists want to take advantage of the cover of darkness to attack the town. They met with prompt response of the vigilant troops, who fiercely engage them in combat, killing several of the insurgents,” he said.

    Nwachukwu said that the troops also recovered one Ak-47 rifle, two Ak-47 Magazines, one Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) tube, three Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) bombs, four Bomb Chargers and Light Machine Gun belt links.

    The army spokesman said the gallant troops were on the pursuit of the terrorists who fled the scene of the encounter.